, 1887-11-24
Food Fishes Of the Northwest.

1 CIltt' coast are OF "b!utiIul mag
uitrd, ard their full development will
IL tn" future lie credited to Cape Ann
fishermen. These fishing grounds
viii attract the sturdy fishermen who
have brayed many a gale in the pros
eCUJIon Gf tie eastern fisheries The
fishing industries 81 Inc great NcTJh
west viii III few years be one Of
grCat eEormity. / BCa representa-
tive recently had an interview with
DT Tar.etOu II. Bean Of the Smith
sOui-n Institute at Washington. The
full credit Of all ihat l. known about
these fisheries oi the Pacific coast j.
due 10 the researches and InvestigG
tious Of the United States fish com
mission. largely uuar the Immediate
researches OF DIR. Bean. The new
commissioner Of the United States
Ii-h commission, Professor Gi- Brown
Guude i ali enthusiast vs well a. IN
defatigable worker, and viii push the
work of the commission 10 the pres
eut and future benefit of the millions
OF fish consumer III the United
States.
/ The writer found Dr. Bean vcly
r NlIiLLly- u N''4EiIAl taa4sN Cait' 1rN -
about lis LEGATIONS, and from
hIm CLEANED the following account
f ot the Alaska fisheries. He went
/ there III United States coast sUr
yey scLuouer, fully cquiped with
/ trjwI lines, aoIuo and other necessary
} articles or collecting specimens OF
/ fish. lie ohtaiEed 81 specimens On
( the coast, There being 80 species
f, known III the Alaskan territory. Only
/ the coast fisheries are known. The
inland waters are not known much
about on account Of difficulty IF ac-
cess and uufrieudly Indians In
1876 he carried shad to the H. per
waters of the Sacramento river II
| California, and now this species Is III
great plenty. Previous TO that, shad
! was unknown IA those waters, and the
credit Of introducing them there be
longs to the Unitei-State7 fish cOm-
mission. Shad are SO plentiful IN the
markets there that the young shad
are seen i'll stalls hcaped up and sold
by the lot. 1t Is an excellent food
fish.
Shad We're taken out by Seth Green
before, but nothing ever came OF that
distribution. The commission sent
out an enormous quantity, and then
began to appear III the streams all
along the west coast, aud specimens
were obtained from Puget Sound.
The food fishes of Alasha are of end
less variety and profusion. There
are not less than eight kinds belong
ing to the family of founders, and
every kind of good food. One specie
of the founder family has wide dis
tribution from the lower part Of the
state of California to Colville river in
Alaska. The largest specie of the
founder family, (the halibut,) Is found
extensively ali round the coast OF
Alaska, and to the ice line Of the Beh
ring sea. Where the seals are pIen-
ty the halibut are scarce, Tor the seals
prey upon them. The haIibut are
excessively abundant III many places
Specimens weighing between 2O0 and
800 pounds have been caught from
the wharyes at Sitka. The food fish
of Alaska are great deal like those
caught IN eastern waters by Massa-
chOsetts fishermen. The halibut is
sold in San Francisco aud is also
canned and smoked in Alaska and
they also have "boneless cod" Mas
sachusetts and Maine men are out
there, SO that fish Is cured the same
as it is here.
The pollock there are not so good
for food, but make good bait. Bait
is plenty right on the fishing
grounds.
| There are six species of the cod
family including tho common cod,
polar col, species just the same as
We get i'll the east Jhere is ono
specie there which We do not have
the burbot.
There is Il specie OF the sea wolf
there, and sucking fish are found III
4 great many varieties, but thoy arc
not food fish. The lump fish there
is well known here. Thitteeu species
of the schlpin are also found, and
two of them are first rate food fish.
In the rock ccds there are five
species, tho finest fish in the country.
The atka fish is one of the best
for eating. 1t is just the same size
as mackerel and is of the same flavor.
If you shut your eyes you could not
tell them from mackerel. They arc
/ found IN large quaint ties. They
school just the same us mackerel, and
can be caught with seiues. TIE
flavor of the fish is even better than
mackerel, They make fine bait for
cod, which come to the top of the
water they are SO fond of them. This
atka fish Is yellow, dark gray and
pink, and is called yellow fish by
some because the yellow predomin-
ates. Another fish closely identified
with the atka fish is the black cod.
the Indian name being be.horve.
This fish has createp quite stir be
cause it can be smoked, and it Is bet
ter than smoked halibut. The name
of black cod is misleading, for it is
not of the cod family. 1t il destined
to play an important part as fish
food, and 1t is the same with the atka
fish, which Is superior to mackerel
and would be grand substitute for
mackerel which are now so scarce.
The liant is used by fishermen and
Indians for bait. Tho most remark
able fresh wafer fish is tho blackfish
1t Is found all over the bogs in shoal
places. The Indians gather this fish
by the tons for food, and what they
don't need they fecd to the dogs
One peculiar feature about this fish is
the fact substantiated by good evi-
dence that they fairly freeze almost
solid IN the winter and thaw out into
new life.
There are three kinds of smelts.
one like what is caught in eastern
waters, one called the pond smeIt
which spawns In ponds, end the surf
smelt. which spawns in the surf.
| The capelin is exactly like the
easter specie, and DR. Bean, himself,
found 4O of them in the stomach of
a ten pound cod, Ill Kodiak.
The eulachon OF candle fish affords
hight for the natives. 1t is dried,
and either end being lighted il is